IOTI - Healthy Lifestyles for People with Disabilities

Project Details

Project Context:
The lack of knowledge about how to prepare for a disaster among the population of recent Latino immigrants is further compounded when a disability is experienced by an individual or member of the family within this group. Although data on the level of preparedness among Latino individuals with disabilities is not specifically available, data on the level of preparedness for people with disabilities in general suggests that over half (58%) of the people with disabilities surveyed by the National Organization on Disabilities just after the 2001 terrorist attacks did not know where to go in their community to learn about emergency planning, and 61% had not made plans to evacuate their homes quickly and safely.

Project Focus:
The purpose of the Emergency preparedness for Spanish Speaking Families and Individuals with Disabilities is to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate emergency preparedness training to the Spanish speaking population with disabilities in Salt Lake and Utah Counties which takes into account the values, past experiences, and learning styles of this diverse population. Following best practices, the project enhances an existing curriculum and uses both agency and community-based health promoters to train the target population.